Editing Art Tatum (section)

==Early life==
Tatum's mother, Mildred Hoskins, was born in [[Martinsville, Virginia]],{{sfn|Balliett|2005|p=226}} around 1890, and was a [[domestic worker]].{{sfn|Lester|1994|p=18}} His father, Arthur Tatum Sr., was born in [[Statesville, North Carolina]],{{sfn|Balliett|2005|p=226}}{{refn|group=note|Tatum Sr.'s age at the time of Art's birth is given as either 24 or 28, meaning he was born around 1885 or around 1881.{{sfn|Lester|1994|p=229}} }} and had steady employment as a mechanic.{{sfn|Lester|1994|p=17}} In 1909, they made their way from North Carolina to begin a new life in [[Toledo, Ohio]].<ref>{{cite thesis |type=PhD |last=Hunt |first=Imelda |title=An Oral History of Art Tatum During His Years in Toledo, Ohio, 1909–1932 |date=1995 |publisher=[[Bowling Green State University]] |page=24 |oclc=39748924}}</ref> The couple had four children; Art was the oldest to survive and was born in Toledo on October 13, 1909.{{sfn|Lester|1994|pp=15–16}} He was followed by Arline nine years later and Karl after another two years.{{sfn|Lester|1994|p=16}} Karl went to college and became a social worker.{{sfn|Lester|1994|p=18}} The Tatum family was regarded as conventional and church-going.{{sfn|Lester|1994|p=19}}

From infancy, Tatum had impaired vision.{{sfn|Lester|1994|pp=20–21}} Several explanations for this have been posited, most involving [[cataract]]s.{{sfn|Lester|1994|pp=20–21}}{{refn|group=note|Tatum's eyesight is discussed in detail by {{harvnb|Spencer|2002|pp=42–54}}.}} As a result of eye operations, by the age of 11, Tatum could see objects close to him and perhaps distinguish colors.{{sfn|Lester|1994|p=22}} Any benefits from these procedures were reversed, however, when he was assaulted, probably in his early twenties.{{sfn|Lester|1994|pp=22–24}} The attack left him completely blind in his left eye and with very limited vision in his right.{{sfn|Balliett|2005|p=225}} Despite this, there are multiple accounts of him enjoying playing cards and [[Pool (cue sports)|pool]].{{sfn|Lester|1994|pp=25, 58, 85}}{{refn|group=note|In 1935, Tatum was reported as describing his eyesight as "not too good, but I can see enough to read and write and get around".<ref name="DB1935" />}}

Accounts vary on whether Tatum's parents played any musical instruments, but it is likely that he was exposed at an early age to church music, including through the Grace [[Presbyterian Church]] that his parents attended.{{sfn|Lester|1994|pp=19–20}} He also began the piano at a young age, playing by ear and aided by an excellent memory and sense of pitch.{{sfn|Lester|1994|pp=34–37}} Other musicians reported that he had [[perfect pitch]].{{sfn|Lester|1994|p=148}}<ref>{{cite book|last=Taylor |first=Billy |title=The Jazz Life of Dr. Billy Taylor |year=2013 |publisher=Indiana University Press |isbn=978-0-253-00917-3 |page=57}}</ref> As a child he was sensitive to the piano's [[Intonation (music)|intonation]] and insisted it be tuned often.{{sfn|Lester|1994|pp=36–37}} He learned tunes from the radio, records, and by copying [[piano roll]] recordings.{{sfn|Lester|1994|pp=44–46}} In an interview as an adult, Tatum denied the story that his playing ability developed because he had attempted to reproduce piano roll recordings that, without his knowing, had been made by two performers.{{sfn|Lester|1994|p=44}} His interest in sports was lifelong, and he displayed an encyclopedic memory for baseball statistics.<ref name="Primack" />

Tatum first attended Jefferson School in Toledo, then moved to the School for the Blind in [[Columbus, Ohio]], late in 1924.{{sfn|Lester|1994|pp=26–28}} After less than a year, he transferred to the Toledo School of Music.{{sfn|Lester|1994|pp=29–30}} Overton G. Rainey, who gave him formal piano lessons in the [[Classical music|classical tradition]] at either the Jefferson School or the Toledo School of Music, was also visually impaired, did not [[Musical improvisation|improvise]], and discouraged his students from playing [[jazz]].{{sfn|Lester|1994|pp=37–39}} Based on this history, it is reasonable to assume that Tatum was largely self-taught as a pianist.<ref name="Horn" /> By the time he was a teenager, Tatum was asked to play at various social events, and he was probably being paid to play in Toledo clubs from around 1924–25.{{sfn|Lester|1994|pp=42–45, 47}}

{{Multi image
| image1            = Fats Waller edit.jpg
| caption1          = [[Fats Waller]]
| image2            = JPJ_CD2.gif
| total_width       = 350
| caption2          = [[James P. Johnson]]
| image3            = Earl Hines 1947.jpg
| caption3          = [[Earl Hines]]
| header            = Major influences on Tatum:
}}

Growing up, Tatum drew inspiration principally from [[Fats Waller]] and [[James P. Johnson]], who exemplified the [[Stride (music)|stride piano]] style, and to some extent from the more modern [[Earl Hines]],<ref name="Horn" />{{sfn|Schuller|1989|pp=478–479}} six years Tatum's senior. Tatum identified Waller as his biggest influence, while pianist [[Teddy Wilson]] and saxophonist [[Eddie Barefield]] suggested that Hines was one of his favorite jazz pianists.{{sfn|Lester|1994|p=57}} Another influence was pianist [[Lee Sims]], who did not play jazz, but used chord voicings and an orchestral approach (i.e. encompassing a full sound instead of highlighting one or more [[timbre]]s{{sfn|Schuller|1989|p=482}}) that appeared in Tatum's playing.{{sfn|Lester|1994|pp=123–125}}